[AJCarrington]

Looks like Dawn of the Artifacts #4 - New Dawn is now available:

Dawn of the Artifacts: New Dawn (Book & PDF Combo)

Shadowrun: New Dawn (Dawn of the Artifacts #4) - DTRPG

 

AJC

[Frankie the Fomori]

Quick question regarding one of the NPC stat blocks, the Atlantean Foundation Soldier has the enhanced articulation Bio-ware. It seems to affect his combat skill as well as his physical skills.

The way I thought it was intended was it added +1 to the skills under physical active skill list on page 124 SR4a, and it did not include any of the other skill lists (I.E combat related)? Please let me know if I am wrong on this please?

This is the NPC in question:

Atlantean Foundation Soldier
B A R S C I L W Ess Init IP
4 5 ( 4 ( 3 3 4 3 4 1.05 8 (12) 1 (2)
Condition Monitor Boxes: 10
Armor (B/I): 8 (11)/6 (9)

Skills: Climbing 3 (4), Close Combat skill group 4 (5), Dodge 4 (5), Firearms skill group 5 (6), First Aid 3, Infiltration 4 (5), Perception 3, Running 3 (4), Shadowing 3 (4)

Augmentations: Cybereyes [Rating 3, w/ flare compensation, low-light vision, smartlink, thermographic vision, ultrasound sensor], enhanced articulation, muscle toner 3, orthoskin 3, reaction enhancers 3, wired reflexes 1

Gear: Armored jacket, commlink (Device Rating 5), medkit
(Rating 6)
Weapons:
Ares Predator IV [Heavy Pistol, DV 5P, AP –1, SA, RC —,
15(c), w/ smartlink]
Knife [Blade, Reach —, DV 3P, AP —]
FN HAR [Assault Rifle, DV 6P, AP –1, SA/BF/FA, RC 2,
35(c), w/ smartlink, laser sight]
3 flash bangs [Grenade, DV 6S, AP –3, blast 10m radius]
3 thermal smoke grenades [Grenade, blast 10m radius]

[Critias]

Your interpretation is correct.  Looks like someone never got the memo.

[Frankie the Fomori]

thank you, I love the product though....When i first get somthing I look through it to view the NPC's to see if they are rocking a new Cyber suite, or have a better make up of Augmentations then I use.

[Crash_00]

I guess I missed the memo too. Enhanced Articulation says Physical skills (not Physical Active Skills as Pg. 124 says) linked to Physical Attributes. For some reason I always thought this was just all the skills on pg. 120 table under the Physical Attributes. I guess its just another case of not quite getting a good terminology into the book.

So Enhanced Articulation only applies to: Climbing, Diving, Escape Artist, Gymnastics, Infiltration, Palming, Parachuting, Running, and Swimming?

[Critias]

The generally accepted version is that, yes, it only affects "Physical Active Skills." 

I liked it in previous editions when it affected combat stuff directly, too, and I'm the first to admit it's a fairly arbitrary and artificial game balance thing that made it somehow, magically, stop working the same way it used to (melee combat, in particular, seems like a natural fit for Enhanced Articulation to help with)...but it's still a pretty good deal.

Getting a +1 to nine skills for just $40k and .3 Essence isn't too shabby a deal, when one considers that it would be $90k and .9 Essence for the same thing via individual Reflex Recorders (which are bought at the same rate/cost as Synthacardium, for instance, both of which Enhanced Articulation stacks with).

[Patrick Goodman]

Doesn't make it right, though.

[BSOD]

Doesn't make it right, though.

Well GMs can always houserule it.

[Sengir]

I guess I missed the memo too. Enhanced Articulation says Physical skills (not Physical Active Skills as Pg. 124 says) linked to Physical Attributes. For some reason I always thought this was just all the skills on pg. 120 table under the Physical Attributes. I guess its just another case of not quite getting a good terminology into the book.

I'm normally quite critical of inconsistent terminology in SR books, but in this case it's clear-cut IMO: When something is capitalized as in "Vehicle skills" or "Physical skills", it refers to that category of (active) skills.

[Critias]

Doesn't make it right, though.

Oh, I'm not saying I like it, or that it makes sense (like I said).  Just that it seems to be how the rule is written, for better or worse, and trying to find the bright side (that it's still got pretty solid bang-for-the-buck).

[Crash_00]

I'm normally quite critical of inconsistent terminology in SR books, but in this case it's clear-cut IMO: When something is capitalized as in "Vehicle skills" or "Physical skills", it refers to that category of (active) skills.

If that is their intent, then they should cut the "Active" out of the category name and list the categories under an Active "super-category". Otherwise they should include Active every time its referenced. Vehicle skills could technically include Vehicle knowledge skills if the Active isn't included. I'm not saying its inconsistent with what they do in the books (I haven't actually paid attention that close to their habits). I'm saying that it was ambiguous to do it that way.

[Stalker]

Quick question regarding one of the NPC stat blocks, the Atlantean Foundation Soldier has the enhanced articulation Bio-ware. It seems to affect his combat skill as well as his physical skills.

Here's a much more critical problem: That guy shouldn't have been there in the first place.

I've just read through the section in question and I'm wondering: What on earth is the Atlantean Foundation doing on the ship, chasing after the Compass / chain to grab it themselves? There were several occasions where Sheila Blatavska (the old hag from the intro/outro fictions of DotA 1-3) as well as the Behind the Scenes sections have laid out quite clearly the Foundation's agenda: Blatavska wants to see the artifacts in Ehran's / Frosty's hands (probably to pull off some totally treacherous trickery in "Artifacts Unbound"). In accordance with that agenda, the Foundation and its Mystic Crusaders have been (more or less) hidden allies of the runners throughout DotA 1-3. Why the heck would they all of a sudden start fighting the runners in DotA 4? It just doesn't make any sense to me. Now, CGL in general and DotA in particular have seen some major changes in writer line-up since DotA 3. Could it be that some of the "new guys" scrambling to work after JH, BD and others had left haven't exactly done their homework on the entire concept of the series and got a bit mixed up with the motivations of the different factions?